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One Tool That Teachers Should Never Use

There are many tools available for today’s modern educator. Here are a few:

Multimedia

Materials

Advanced Technology

Children Psychology

Research

Online Publications

Newsletters

Conferences

How do we filter through all the available tool noise and find what is vital for our success as educators?

The vital tool is that which makes the most impact.

Therefore, I believe your most valuable tool as an educator is your ability to know your students. If you know your students well you can influence them in the most beneficial way. You will be able teach them the way the need to be taught, speak their language and, have a long-lasting impact on their education.

Now that we know that, we can now locate the one tool that we should never use. We can do this now because we now know what are most valuable tool is and therein knowing that the tool we shouldn’t use is the tool that contradicts the efforts of knowing our students well.

That tool is, the mindset ofrigid methodologies and philosophies. When we get caught up in rigid ways of thinking we pull away from our abilities to understand how our students think. We get caught in a “I know best” mentality. When, in reality, the student knows best how he or she should be taught, they just aren’t aware of it. Out duty as teachers is to locate these best ways of teaching through flexibility in mind in order to best establish how the student will learn best. We can not do this if we hold fixed ideas as absolutes in our minds.

Methods and philosophies in education are strong pillars that allow us for foundational support. However, once we label them as absolutes, we forego the ability to use best practice for each student. Ironically, we employ methods and philosophies as tools, for them to create concrete mentalities that stunt the growth of our students.

Release your need for control and solidarity. Allow for the students to teach you the method that works best for them. Allow for the students to show you the philosophy that they best resonate with. You will be more at ease, you classroom will prosper and, you students will be forever thankful.